A flowing chemical reaction preparing in the depths of Recently closed The discharge of Chiquita Canyon in Castaic now threatens to consume an entire canyon of 160 acres of buried waste, endangering a storage area for dangerous liquid waste, according to state officials.
The California Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Control of Toxic Substances claim that the situation poses “an imminent and substantial danger” for public health and the environment, and ordered the company to take corrective measures or to face fines that can reach $ 70,000 per day.
THE burning chemical reaction Burns garbage deeply underground in a portion of 30 acres of discharge from Chiquita Canyon for almost three years, which has derived harmful smells in neighboring neighborhoods and the dangerous leachain spreads to the surface.
Although the representatives of the discharges insisted that the chemical reaction was largely contained in this 30 -acres area, California environmental regulators say that there is evidence that there is around 90 acres, citing abnormally high temperatures and carbon monoxide emissions in new areas, according to a new analysis of the state and an action in application.
Without other action, state officials expect the reaction to continue and burn garbage for a decade or more.
“There is no barrier proposed to prevent the reaction from consuming the whole installation,” said a Calrecycle report on March 28. “The reaction area is developing and the current containment strategy has failed.”
Waste Connections Inc., owner of the discharge and operator, challenged the conclusions of the State.
The company “does not agree with a number of declarations and allegations made by some of its regulators and the conclusions they draw from data,” said Steve Cassulo, the director of the discharge, in a statement. “(Our staff) believes that the data show that the mitigation efforts undertaken to date have had positive results to the declared objective of slowing down the reaction.”
According to state officials, some parts of the discharge collapse quickly as large quantities of buried burns or waste decomposes. This includes an area under one of the landfill parks – a collection of storage containers used to store and treat dangerous leachate. Deep cracks and pavilions have also formed on the surface of the discharge near these leaix storage containers.
State regulators fear that damage to the reservoir park would cause a leachate spill loaded with chemicals on the surface of the discharge and potentially in nearby water sources.
State agencies have ordered reinforcement waste to move the tanks to prevent dangerous chemicals from infiltrating groundwater or spreading in storm drains that feed on the Santa Clara river.
In the past, the extreme heat of the reaction area has increased pressure. The toxic leachate sometimes broke out and overturned on the surface of the discharge. Consequently, the discharge proactively extracted the leachate to alleviate the pressure. Last year, nearly 63 million gallons in leachate were collected.
Learning spills are also a threat to local air quality. When the heated leachate for warm -up spills on the surface, some of the toxic chemicals can evaporate, including benzene – a chemical cancer of cancer in cigarette smoke. Some leachate samples contained levels of benzene so high that they were considered hazardous waste according to federal standards.
Residents called in thousands of odor complaints in the air quality management district of the southern coast. Many say that they have experienced headaches, nose bleeding and difficulty breathing.
The member of the Pilar Schiavo State Assembly (D-Chatsworth), which represents the neighboring communities of Val Verde and Castaic, asked the state to declare the state of emergency, highlighting the serious and lasting health risks of the exposure. The Newsom administration has denied the request, saying that an emergency proclamation would not help the efforts of response.
“The tanks where they treat toxic liquid, the soil becomes unstable,” said Schiavo. “It's just an absolute nightmare situation. The leachate has so many horrible chemicals that will make people sick. And unfortunately, you know, I have not heard of a solution. There is no miracle solution for this type of situation.”
“How is not one of the greatest disasters we all talk about about my mind,” added Schiavo.
In addition to moving the reservoir park, state regulators also require waste connections to install a barrier to prevent the chemical reaction from moving further south. If the reaction spreads there, heat and instability can trigger a landslide, potentially blocking the main entrance to the discharge.
The state also requires discharge to extend its synthetic cover system throughout the main canyon to help remove smoke.
“Enough, that's enough,” said Katie Butler director of the toxic substances control department in a press release. “For too long, residents of Val Verde and Castaic suffered as this environmental crisis is getting worse. And the discharge strategy does not work. This order requires tangible actions to contain the reaction and reduce the impacts. DTSC will apply it to the fullest extent. ”
